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Pretty Slik

ot that I’ve ever actually counted them, but it seems to me that often on the coupe, but it also
if we made a list of American toy makers active from the 1920s came in a medium blue. And I’ve
Nto the 1960s, the region with the most manufacturers read that Lansing also made a taxi
almost certainly would have been the upper Midwest. The version, which I’ve never seen
Ohio/Michigan/Indiana/Illinois/Iowa corridor beats even the prolific but for which I think I’d give a
New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area when it comes to the numbers non-vital organ.
game, especially when we’re talking about makers of toy cars. One of My red Slik-Toys pickup, also
them was located in Lansing, a small town on the banks of the seven inches long, came to me
Mississippi River in northeast Iowa. at an outdoor toy show in
The Lansing Company, Pennsylvania seven or eight years
Inc. made die-cast alu- ago. A seller I’d known for a long
minum and plastic toy cars time had a shipping box, proba-
and trucks in the late 1940s bly about 20 inches by 20 inches
and 1950s, calling the in size, sitting on his table in the
product Slik-Toys. (The sunshine. It had the patina of age,
company also made farm and it was full of original Slik-
vehicle toys such as tractors Toys pickups, oil tankers, and
and combines.) There are moving vans – each placed in its
two things about Slik-Toys own slot in the box and all in
that push my button. One rather amazing original condi-
The original box for the coupe shows the manufacturer’s is they’re off the beaten tion. It looked to me like most of Slik-Toys ad from the March 1948 issue of
name change to Lansing Button Co., which occurred track in the vintage toy them hadn't been removed from Toys and Novelties magazine.
during the 1950s.
world … there were far the box since it left the Lansing factory in 1948 or 1949, so I bought a
fewer Slik-Toys made than Tootsietoys or Hubleys, so there are fewer “set” … the pickup, oil tanker, and moving van for $20 apiece, a steal
that have survived. I wouldn’t call them rare, but for every Slik-Toy that if ever there was one. Given their condition, I should have bought a
turns up you’ll see 10 Matchbox or Tootsietoy mod- second set, but apparently, I had reached my quota of
els. wonderful vintage toys at bargain prices for the day.
The other big plus with Slik-Toys is that several of The pickup hits me where I live, as it’s an out-
the larger metal models avoided the mistake of having standing example of mid-century pickup truck
covered wheel arches. A covered wheel arch made it design. I don’t know if it was based on a specific
easier for a toy maker to secure the wheel/axle to the pickup of the time, although the overall shape does
toy, which no doubt was a cost-saving move. But kind of resemble a 1937 or so Studebaker. And while
it made for a duller-looking toy—not to mention a the oil tanker suffers from the covered wheel arch
less realistic-looking toy—and a number of American syndrome, the moving van at least has open front
manufacturers fell into the trap during the 1940s wheel arches (see the original ad) and says 1940s
and 1950s. The underside of the larger Slik-Toys is America in a big way.
simple but does offer plenty of information.
Lansing used a four-digit numbering scheme for
Exact Models? their toys. The coupe was 9600, the pickup 9601, the moving van
Lansing, in fact, went that route with its plastic toys and some of its 9602, and so forth. Chipped and worn examples of these models
metal toys, but the two aluminum models shown here have proper generally are priced in the $10 to $30 range, but an intact original can
arches. The fastback coupe, called a sedan on its box, is seven inches in bring $50 or more. For a mint condition coupe with a complete box,
length and, as far as I know, was the only Slik-Toy vehicle to come in expect to see $75 to $125 on the price tag.
an individual box. Despite the claim that Lansing made in the 1948 The larger Slik-Toys are good-sized metal toys, but they’re
Toys and Novelties ad—“Every Slik-Toy an exact model of leading com- lightweight due to
mercial autos, trucks, and tractors”—the coupe didn’t resemble any being made of alu-
particular car of the 1940s. But it’s a wonderful shape with that fastback minum and because
rear end, and, along each is a single casting
with the free-rolling with no baseplate.
version shown here, Underneath, you’ll
the model also was find the Slik-Toys
offered with a clock- name along with the
work motor powering company name and
either the front or rear Might be a Studebaker: Slik-Toys #9601 pickup truck. city, and the word
wheels. Red is the Along with red, the coupe also “Kipp” cast into the
color I’ve seen most came in a medium blue. metal. Kipp…hmmm. Your guess is as good as mine.

Douglas R. Kelly is editor of Marine Technology magazine. His byline has appeared in Antiques
Roadshow Insider; Back Issue; Diecast Collector; RetroFan; and Buildings magazines. February 2024 31